As part of an initiative to uplift the tourism industry, UAE’s first robotic café has been launched in the Dubai Festival City Mall and is now open for business and is aptly called Robocafe.
It does not have any human intervention and is completely run by German manufactured robots, as makers as well as waiters. You can see three slick robot machines, designed to make coffees and snacks. They have robotic arms, efficient enough to operate in fixed directions to deliver food and beverages to the customers.
After entering the café, take a seat on the table that looks like furniture from the future. Place your order on the computer tablet on the table and make the payment. And then watch as the robots take over. The big arm-like structure will prepare your beverages and snacks and place them on the top of a smaller robot. The smaller robot will then carefully get the meal right to your table.
And by the way at timely intervals, the robots will play music and perform a co-ordinated choreography which is so much fun to watch. We are told the food is decent, especially their hot chocolate and coffees.
Are they Robo cafes in India?
India’s first robot-themed restaurant was opened in Chennai in November 2017. Three sari-clad robots move around the restaurant, heavily inspired by robot-themed Chinese and Japanese Eateries.
In Bhubaneswar, there is a restaurant called Robo Chef, served by robots. The two humanoid servers, named ‘Champa’ and ‘Chameli’, in the DLF Cyber City area, and are the first indigenously developed robot servers in India. In other robot restaurants in cities like Chennai and Bengaluru, the robots have been sourced from China. They reportedly wish guests, take orders, and serve food, thereby eliminating the need for waiters. Post serving customers, the robots have been programmed to enquire ‘apana mane khushi tha?’, or ‘are you happy?’ in Odia.
There is a Robot restaurant at Eternity Mall in Nagpur. There are three humanoid robots from Japan.
Unusual restaurants around the world
Vertigo Restaurant and Moon Bar, Bangkok
A part of the Banyan Tree Hotel, located at the top of a skyscraper, this restaurant features a great Sky Bar with an elongated deck. You can enjoy a sailing atmosphere while tucking into your food.
Vista Restaurant, Cambodia
Located right in the centre of the Koh Rong Archipelago in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, this restaurant is part of a private hotel. Guests can reach the restaurant by walking over a bridge situated over clear vast ocean water. The famous chefs employed here prepare delicious fresh food by combining Western cuisine and local flavours.
The Disaster Café, Lloret de Mar, Spain
The café looks very ordinary and gives you no warning about what awaits you! The ground level has an alien-themed restaurant for kids, decorated like a spaceship. They can have fun with wacky aliens but for grownups, the fun happens below ground. An elevator takes you to the “the depths of the Earth”, where they are seated in a cave-like restaurant. The staff will be wearing construction helmets and other safety equipment. And then the surprise comes in the form of a simulated 7.8 earthquake that shakes the place up. Lights start to go out, women begin screaming, chairs, tables and pretty much everything in the room starts moving and there is nothing you can do but wait it out and hope for the best. Better not to wear your finest outfit, because spilt drinks and food are quite common here. The heavy dishes will stop your meal from flying off the table, but accidents do happen quite often.
The Grotto, Thailand
The Grotto nestles under an ancient limestone cliff on the edge of beautiful Phranang Beach. Guests at this restaurant are seated inside one of the most beautiful caves in the world. Even if you are not a guest at the Rayavadee resort, you can just visit this restaurant to enjoy the spectacular view and barbequed food.
Bird’s Nest Restaurant, Thailand
This restaurant is built just like a bird’s nest – with tree nests in actual trees, 16 feet above ground level. Not only will you enjoy every bit of the food here, but you will surely like the spectacular view from the height, as well. To deliver your meals and drinks, the waiters will use a specially designed zip line!
The Rock Restaurant, Zanzibar
A popular island located in the Indian Ocean, you cannot miss the huge rock that converts into a restaurant. A rock is positioned right there in the water on Michanwi Pingwe Beach. You can reach it by canoe, walk, or swim to it. It helps that the food is amazing amazingly tasty.
Chillout Ice Lounge, United Arab Emirates
Completely done in ice with ice sculptures, ice seating and tables and a uniquely illuminated interior, all at a sub-zero temperature, you might want to grab a coat and warmer clothing if you decide to visit it. With the hot climate in the area, this is quite a chilling experience. The lounge serves hot soups, sandwiches, juices, hot chocolates, coffee, tea, and a variety of deserts, mock-tails, and confectionary making it the first of its kind in the world to serve hot food & beverages.
Labassin Waterfall Restaurant, Philippines
An experience to dine right in the middle of a waterfall, this restaurant serves authentic seafood on bamboo tables and you can enjoy the cool breeze of the surrounding forest and the refreshing waterfall. You might also get drenched while having your meal. The Labassin is not a natural waterfall, instead, it is a runoff from the Labassin Dam which is the Philippines' first hydroelectric plant. But even though it is an artificial waterfall, the experience is nothing less than reality.
Modern Toilet, Taipei
It is a restaurant/cafe/dessert place themed in a toilet space. The seats are real toilets, you drink coke out of mini urinals, the tables have toilet bowls with fake poo in them, even the couches are giant toilets. The food is said to be delicious though you probably need a lot more incentive than delicious food to get used to this gross restaurant.
Ithaa Undersea Restaurant, Maldives
Easily one of the world’s most beautiful restaurant, visitors climb down a spiral staircase in a thatched pavilion at the end of a jetty. You enter a building, which has a curved roof like a tunnel, from above. Secured five meters below sea level at the Hilton Maldives Resort and Spa, the Ithaa Undersea Restaurant is a mostly acrylic building that only seats 14. This is more than 16 feet above sea level and opened in 2005. With a transparent acrylic roof, the restaurant offers a panoramic view of 270 degrees of sea creatures floating in the crystal-clear water of Maldives.
ONoir, Canada
The restaurant invites guests to experience food, drinks, and conversation without the use of sight. The philosophy behind this is that when you eat food in the dark, your remaining senses are heightened to savour the smell and taste of food. Even potatoes and yoghurt have a culinary flair. But ONoir does more than just stimulate the senses. After 1-2 hours in complete darkness (no flashlights, cell phones, matches, cigarette lighters, or luminous watches), customers gain a better understanding of what it is like to be blind – just like the team of restaurant’s wait staff consisting entirely of the visually-impaired.
Silver Clipper Dinner Flight (Melbourne, Australia)
Aeroplane food is rarely worth raving about, but Silver Clipper swears to change it all. Upon arrival at 7:00 pm into the Silver Clipper Lounge, you will be greeted with a complimentary glass of champagne, finger food, and a brief introduction by the Captain on the night’s proceedings and the glorious DC-3. At 7:45 they depart for a seventy-minute flight around Port Phillip Bay and the beautiful Melbourne city. During the flight, they serve a specially catered cold hamper style meal accompanied by a selection of complimentary wines. After dinner, you can relax in the flight lounge or visit the cockpit before returning to land at 9:00 pm. Tea, coffee, port, and a fine selection of chocolates await you in the Silver Clipper Lounge to conclude the evening.
Rollercoaster Restaurant (Locations across Europe and the Middle East)
Gravity delivers all dishes and drinks via a stainless-steel rollercoaster that lands at each table at these restaurants. Reserve a table and climb on board for a culinary ride that can include everything from a burger to a mocktail called "Funky Express."
El Diablo (Teguise, Spain)
This Spanish restaurant gives new meaning to "That meal was really hot!" Located inside Timanfaya National Park, El Diablo is situated at the top of a dormant volcano. (The last eruption was in 1824, so diners should be safe.) Chefs use the geothermal heat from the landmark to cook the grilled chicken, sausage, seafood, and steak that star on the menu.
Ninja New York (New York, New York)
Diners donning black belts will fit right in at this New York restaurant designed to resemble a ninja village circa 1500. Ninjas attempt to spook and surprise guests on their walk-in, but that is not where the show ends. Dishes on the Japanese-inspired menu marked with a star come served with some showmanship, say, cooked tableside or plated with dry ice.
